Love is an Illusion
by emtyler01
Summary: Love is an illusion. And when given the proper tools, it can hurt someone. At least that's what Arabella Tyler thought. Love had hurt her in more ways than one. Love is a weapon, and it had been used on her. Set in First Class.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys! So this is my first Xmen First class fic! I have always loved this topic of fanfiction so I decided to start one myself. I know I should be starting another story with the one I already have but YOLO. So this first chapter is kind of just showing my OC and giving a tiny bit of information on her. You guys will see Charles and Erik next chapter. So to end my rambling, please review, no flames please, and constructive criticism is welcomed.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Marvels Xmen. I only own my OC and whatever plot changes I may make.**

_ Love is an illusion. And when given the proper tools, it can hurt someone. At least that's what Arabella Tyler thought. Love had hurt her in more ways than one. Love is a weapon, and it had been used on her. _

"Hello, I'm Arabella and I'll be your server today." Arabella Tyler said sweetly. "Can I get you any thing to drink?" She asked the sweet little elderly couple.

"I'll have a decaffeinated coffee for me and a diet coke for the lady." The elderly man said with a smile.

"Right away Sir." Arabella said with a smile. She turned and walked to the kitchen. Her waist length, chestnut brown hair swayed behind her as she hurried to make the drinks. She hurried as she prepared the drink, not wanting to be yelled at by her boss. She'd had enough of the for one day.

About 3 minutes had passed until she was walking back to the circular table where the only customers in the restaurant sat. As she walked up, she caught the last part of the elders conversation.

"-poor thing, working so late on a Saturday night?"

"Here you are." Arabella said as she placed the drinks in front of the couple. "Do you need anything else?" She asked, silently hoping that all they wanted was drinks and no food.

"No thank you Dear." The woman said, smiling kindly at her. Just as she was about to walk away, the man asked something.

"If you don't mind me asking, how old are you?" Arabella smiled at the question. It was something she had been asked before.

"I'm 18 Sir."

"Now what's a pretty girl like you working at 11:30 at night on a Saturday?" The lady chuckled.

"I'm just trying to earn money to pay my rent." Arabella answered, not much was left of her smile.

"Do you have a roommate to help you with the rent?" The man asked.

"No Sir. It's just me." Arabella forced a smile. The last she needed was the couple prying into her life. It was her life. She's the one living it. That was Arabella's opinion on the topic.

"Oh you poor dear." The lady frowned. She rummaged around in her purse, obviously looking for something. "Here. Take this." She shoved something into Arabella's hand. When Arabella looked down she saw a crumpled up 20 dollar bill.

"That's very kind of you. But I can't." Arabella swallowed a lump in her throat as she said this. She put the bill back on the table and walked away, still hearing the couple discuss her.

About 5 minutes later, when Arabella had composed herself, she walked back to the customers to find the table empty. She saw the amount the couple owed for the drinks, and she saw the 20 dollar bill. 'It must be the tip' Arabella thought miserably to herself.

As much as she needed the money, she almost always refused charity. It made her feel as if she owed them something. Which she did. She owed them the 20 dollar bill they had generously given her. But it wasn't like she could give it back. The couple was probably long gone by now. 'Might as well' Arabella thought to herself as she pocketed the 20 dollar bill and cleaned up the table.

As soon as the table was spotless, she walked into her boss's room. "I'm gonna go home now, okay?" She asked her boss. She didn't enter the room, she only stuck her head in, for she didn't want to smell like smoke for the rest of the night.

"Yeah, yeah." She heard her boss say. "Go ahead." He sounded drunk. He probably was drunk. So she didn't say anything else. She just left.

She only lived a few blocks away from the small diner she worked at, so if it was a good day, she could get home in about 7 minutes if she kept up the pace. Unfortunately, it was not a good day.

About 4 minutes into the walk, Arabella heard a groan. She turned her head to see a drunken looking, middle aged man trying to catch up to her. Arabella's breath quickened and you could hear the click-clacking of her cheap, 2 inch heels quicken. She heard another groan and felt a hand on her waist. She whipped around to be face to face with the drunken idiot.

He pulled her into the partially lit alley that was to there left when he than pushed her up against the wall. Unfortunately, they were the only two people on the street that late at night.

"Hey sweetie." The drunk breathed into her face. "What's up?"

"Nothing that concerns you." Arabella squirmed under his script.

"Ooh. A feisty one. I like that in women." The man murmured, still keeping her pressed upon the wall.

"Shut up you fool." Arabella spat.

The man chuckled and tightened his grip on her. "I like you."

"Oh yeah? I bet you say that to all the women you corner at midnight." Arabella's voice wavered. She was starting to tear up. Thank god it was dark out and the man was to drunk to notice.

"How would you know?" The man murmured, sliding his hand down her waist. This was the last straw for Arabella. She let one tear slide down her face and her fear consumed her. Just like that, the man was on the other side of the alley, unconscious. She didn't even touch him.

Arabella bent over and breathed in and out, crying silently. She slowly walked over to the man and bent over him, seeing if he was breathing. She checked him for a pulse and she luckily found one.

Arabella started walking away, tears now falling freely down her face. She was glad he wasn't dead. Just unconscious. The police won't be able to trace this back to her either. It was midnight. No one will find him till morning. And even then, who would suspect a skinny, 18 year old girl who barely tips the scale at 110 pounds? No one would. She was safe.

But she didn't think so. She knew she was safe from the police, but not from herself. She could still hurt somebody else. She would never be safe while she had this... deformity, mutation, call it what you want, but it still made her a freak.

Arabella ran the rest of the way home, after taking off her heels. Once she was inside the building and inside her apartment, she let out the choked sobs. She slid down the door, sobs racking her body. She sat there for about 10 minutes, crying.

She finally got up and shed her clothes. She climbed into bed in her bra and underwear and cried herself to sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey guys, thank you to those who followed and favorited! So here's chapter two. So please review, it would really make my day. As always constructive criticism is welcomed but please so flames. So here's chapter 2!**

**Disclaimer: I only own my OC and Ideas.**

The next day, Arabella woke at dawn and went through her regular routine of getting ready for the long day ahead of her. She put on a white blouse and black pants, the appropriate attire for the diner where she worked. While doing all of this, she tried to clear her mind of the prior nights events.

This did not work so well as she walked past the alley on her way to work. As she walked by she saw the man being questioned by a mob of people. Lucky for her, the man had been to intoxicated that night to remember anything. Arabella heard the description he gave of her and nearly laughed.

"She was a tall girl, about 5'6 I suppose. She had jet black, short hair, and she wasn't skinny but she wasn't fat." The man described.

Arabella was actually 5'0 opposed to the man saying she was 5'6 and she was a skinny thing too. Only weighing about 110 pounds due to the lack of money which equals the lack of eating regularly. According to the man, she had short jet black hair when she actually had waist length, chestnut hair. She was certain the police wouldn't trace the attack back to her. But nonetheless, she still quickened her pace.

As she entered the diner, the only customers she saw were two men, in there thirties she was guessing, sitting at the bar. 'Thats odd' Arabella thought to herself. Normally they never had any customers this early in the morning. They usually spent the time making preparations for lunch.

Arabella walked behind the counter and did her best to smile brightly at the two men. "Good morning. What can I get you?"

The smaller, nicer looking man grinned at her and ordered a coffee while the taller, harsher looking one ordered a water. As Arabella was preparing the drinks, she caught a few words from the conversation.

"-you sure?-"

"-attack down the block-"

"-telekinetic maybe-" Arabella's breath quickened when she heard the words attack, but she quickly dismissed the frightened feeling that had taken over her. She turned around to face both men.

"Here you are." Arabella presented the drinks. "Is there anything else you need?"

The man surprised her when he said yes. "Actually, we were wondering, Arabella, if you could give us a bit of information?" When she heard her name she stiffened. She didn't recall telling the men her name. Were they detectives? Did someone identify her as the one who attacked the drunken idiot? As these thoughts raced through her head, she heard the taller man speak to the smaller man.

"Oh come on Charles, hurry up. Your scaring the girl and we still have three more mutants to retrieve after this."

The younger man, now identified as Charles, seemed to snap back to reality. "My apologies Arabella. I did not mean to frighten you. I meant only to see what your reaction was. My name is Charles Xavier and my companion is Erik Lensherr." He introduced.

"Well you seem to already know my name, but I'm Arabella Tyler." She said a bit uncertainly. "Are you the police?" When Charles heard this he chuckled.

"No. In fact, we're like you." Now Arabella was interested.

"Like me how?" She inquired.

"Well we are both mutants as well. I bet you can guess what my ability is, but I'll tell you anyways. I'm a telepath, and Erik here-" Charles was cut off by a spoon being levitated in the air and being bent to form a 'U'.

"-controls metal." Charles finished. "And I believe you are telekinetic." Charles said leaning forward, intrigued.

"Is that what it's called?" Arabella asked. "I always thought of it as a deformity."

"Oh my dear girl. It is not a deformity, it is a gift. It makes you special." Charles laughed.

"Beautiful speech Charles. Real touching." Erik dryly said. "But can we get down to leaving?" Charles shot Erik a glare as he quickly informed Arabella on the situation. He told her about Shaw and the threats he possessed and the mutant army he had. He than explained how they could use Arabella as well as a few other mutants to help stop him.

"So you want me for an army?" Arabella said uncertainly.

"Something like that." Charles smiled brightly.

"I'm not to sure I'd be of any help to you fighting." She mumbled, looking down.

"Oh please," scoffed Erik. ,"According to what you did last night, to that drunk man, I'm sure you'd be absolutely fine." When the drunken man was mentioned, Arabella flinched.

"How do you-"

"Telepath." Charles smirked.

"So are you coming or not?" Erik forcefully asked. Arabella looked around the small, old diner. If she went with them, she wouldn't have to pay rent, she wouldn't go hungry, and best of all, she'd be with people like her. But if she went with them it would also mean that she'd have to fight. But when she weighed her options, she decided to go with them.

"Alright." Arabella took a breath. "I'll come."

Her saying this caused Charles to smile widely. "Do you have any items you need to retrieve? Anybody you want to say goodbye too?"

"If your a telepath, wouldn't you already know?" Arabella smirked.

"I would, but I wanted to give you your privacy."

"Okay,". Arabella slowly said. "I don't have anything I need to fetch and I have no one to say goodbye to. We can leave now."

"No one?" Erik questioned.

"No. It's just me." They left the diner and made there way across the street to a car. Arabella didn't even bother quitting her job at the diner. She doubted her boss even knew her name. And seeing as he was always drunk, she didn't think she was remembered at all.

"So this secret CIA base, how far away is it?" Arabella asked, thinking it would be hundreds of miles away.

Charles laughed and replied. "It's right in New York." The drive took about 30 minutes. Arabella didn't recognize any of her surroundings as they drove. She hadn't exactly had all the time in the world to go exploring in the brief year she'd lived in New York.

They eventually reached a very large, concert building with people in business suits wandering around. As they got out of the car, she saw some people stop and look at her. She caught the words "mutant", "freak", and "creepy" as she followed Charles and Erik to the mutant division.

Charles stopped at a door labeled "Mutants" and opened it for her. As she walked inside, she saw a boy with brown hair in a white lab coat studying something in a microscope. On the couch, sat a blonde haired girl who immediately jumped up when she saw the trio enter the room.

"Charles!" She shrieked, running over and giving him a hug.

"Raven." Charles laughed, embracing her. Charles turned to Arabella, Raven turning with him. "Arabella meet my sister, Raven. Raven, this is Arabella."

"Hi!" Raven stuck her hand out.

"Nice to meet you." Arabella politely said, shaking Ravens hand.

"Well, as much as I love this beautiful meeting," Erik sarcastically said. "Me and Charles have a long drive ahead of us to fetch the next mutant."

"Raven, I expect you to show Arabella around and make her feel comfortable." Charles instructed Raven. She nodded her head and smiled as she and Charles said goodbye.

As soon as the older mutants left, Raven turned to Arabella with a huge smile on her face. "Come on! Let me introduce you to Hank!" Raven grabbed Arabella's hand and pulled her over to the man in the lab coat. "Hank!" Raven said. "Meet Arabella!" Arabella laughed at Ravens enthusiasm.

The mutant now identified as Hank looked up from the microscope he was studying and glanced at Arabella. "Nice to meet you." He mumbled. He seemed like the shy type.

"Nice to meet you too." Arabella nodded her head. She barely had time to say another word before Raven pulled her away again.

"So this is the room for hanging out. I suspect we'll spend a lot more time in here when the other mutants arrive." Rave explained. The blonde haired girl than pulled Arabella into the hallway and continued down to a set of rooms. "This is my room," Raven pointed to a door. "and you can have the one right next to me!"

Arabella laughed and nodded. Raven certainly was an excitable girl. "I'll let you get settled in and once your done, come on over to my room." Raven instructed her.

"Yes Ma'am." Arabella mockingly said. Raven giggled and exited the hallway into her room.

Arabella walked into the room to find a comfy queen sized bed, a vanity, and a wardrobe. She walked over to the wardrobe to find it empty. 'Dang it!' She thought. She'd have to ask Raven to borrow some clothes. She was sure the exited girl would let her.

She walked over to the bed to find it quite bouncy and comfy. Arabella sighed and laid back. She was finally free. Free of working at that old diner, free of paying the rent, and free of worrying about what she was going to do with her life. I mean, even if this CIA thing was only temporary, it would still help.

Arabella sat up on the bed and noticed a door on the opposite side of the room. Curious, she stood up and walked over. Opening the door, she found a bathroom equipped with a sink, shower, and toilet. Sighing, she took her clothes off and jumped in the shower.

When the warm water hit her body, she sighed in relief. It felt wondrous! Back at her apartment, she would only allow herself short one minute showers and she would use cold water so she wouldn't upset the neighbors. But here, she could take long, soothing showers.

About 15 minutes later, Arabella climbed out of the shower and grabbed a towel. She dried herself off, her hair still a little damp. Since she didn't have any other clothes, she put back on her original clothes.

Not even bothering to put her shoes back on, Arabella opened the door and walked over to Ravens room. She knocked on the door and Raven answered about 10 seconds later. When she saw Arabella, she smiled and pulled her into the room.

"So what do you want to do?" Raven asked excitedly. "We could paint nails, do each others hair, anything!"

"Well I was actually gonna ask you if I could borrow some clothes." Arabella said kind of shyly. "We left in such a rush I couldn't grab anything."

"Oh of course! Just pick anything from there." Raven pointed to a wardrobe exactly like the one in Arabella's room. As Raven flipped through one of her magazines, Arabella trifled through Ravens huge wardrobe. She was amazed at the amount of clothes Raven owned. It was as if she owned a boutique!

Arabella finally chose a simple white, v-neck shirt and a pair of shorts. As she walked out of the bathroom and studied herself in the vanity, she saw Raven staring at her from behind, a slight smile on her face.

"You look cute." Raven complimented.

A smile found its way onto Arabella's face as she accepted the kind words. "Thanks Raven."

"Okay, I like you." Raven blatantly said.

"Excuse me?" Arabella turned from the mirror to face Raven. "You what?"

"I like you." Raven said as if it was nothing. "At first I wasn't to sure, you seemed quiet and scared. But I've made up my mind. I like you."

"Forward much?" Arabella joked as she sat down on the bed.

"Hey, it's who I am." Raven smirked. "I do have to tell you one thing though. I totally love your hair!" She said, referring to Arabella's waist length, chestnut brown hair.

"Thanks." Arabella laughed. "It's the one pleasure I allow myself."

"The one pleasure? What does that mean?"

"It means I never knew my mom and let's just say I have daddy problems." Arabella sighed "I was out on the streets by age 16 and I could never afford much. My hair is the one thing that has never changed about me." She finished.

"I'm sorry. I don't really remember my parents. Charles took me in when I was young."

"Well the past is in the past. Best not to dwell on bad memories." Arabella said.

"Yeah, but there are always those good memories." Raven smiled softly. "Like when I first met Charles, I was stealing food from his family."

"Oh that sounds like quite a story." Arabella laughed. "Please do tell." And that's how they spent the rest of the night, telling and exchanging childhood stories until the early hours of morning. It was the best night Arabella had in years.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Over the next two days, three more mutants were brought in by Erik and Charles.

The first one came the day after Arabella arrived. She and Raven were in the common room eating a late lunch while Hank was working on Cerebro when Charles and Erik walked in. Following them was a boy with ginger hair.

"Arabella, Raven." Charles addressed the girls. "This is our new recruit, Sean." Sean winked at Raven and threw a smile to Arabella. Raven smiled back while Arabella nearly choked with laughter. What a flirt!

"It's very nice to meet you two lovely ladies." Sean smirked. After Charles and Erik left to go fetch the other two mutants, Arabella and Raven spent the remainder of the day showing Sean around. Arabella found him to be a funny, slightly immature, kind of perverted boy. But she liked him as a friend very much.

The next mutant to be brought in was a girl by the name of Angel. Arabella met her while she, Raven, and Sean were talking in the common room. When Angel entered the room, Sean's eyes immediately flickered down to the smaller girls cleavage.

"Hi, I'm Angel." She said very confidently.

"Well hello there." Sean smiled. "Did it hurt when you fell from Heaven? Cause your an-" He was abruptly cut off by Raven slapping him in the arm.

"Come on Sean. Give the girl a break." Arabella chided, standing up from her spot on the couch. "She's only just got here." Arabella glanced over to Angel to find her smirking, obviously not impressed by Sean's antics.

Arabella walked past Sean, shoving him back on the couch, as she introduced herself. "I'm Arabella, and this is Raven." She gestured to the blonde haired girl.

"Nice to meet you both." Angel nodded. The three girls spent the day lounging around Ravens room, talking about what they used to do. All of the mutants who were at the base had agreed not to show each other their mutations until every mutant had arrived on base.

The next mutant to arrive was a dark skinned man by the name of Darwin. He seemed like a nice enough guy to Arabella. She met him at around midnight when everyone else but her was in bed.

Arabella was up getting a Midnight Snack when she heard the door open. She turned around to see Erik and Charles enter with another mutant. He was tall, with dark skin and shirt hair.

"Hello Arabella." Charles greeted. "Up late I see."

"Hi Charles." Smiled Arabella. "Just getting a snack."

"Yes, yes." Erik muttered. "Arabella, this is Darwin, Darwin this is Arabella. Now, we will see you in the morning, goodnight." Erik walked out of the room. Charles through both of the mutants an apologetic look and walked out the door.

"Hello Darwin." Arabella greeted him. "Nice to meet you."

"Likewise." Darwin shook her hand. "So, um, where should I sleep?"

"Just go down that hallway," Arabella pointed. "And choose a room without a name on it."

"Great." Darwin smiled. "I'll see you in the morning."

The last mutant to arrive was Alex Summers. And Arabella happened to meet him by accident. She had gotten up at around 7:45 and was heading over to Ravens room to borrow some clothes. This was the usual routine that happened every morning since Arabella arrived.

She was closing the door to her room as the door across from her opened without Arabella even noticing. She turned around and was face to face with a tall, muscular blond haired guy and he was wearing a T-shirt that showed off his muscled arms.

"Oh, um, hi." Arabella stuttered, brushing her long hair behind her ear. "You must have just gotten here."

"Um, yeah." He said, tucking his hands into his jeans. He looked up and down her body, apparently taking in her appearance. She was dressed in her pajamas which consisted of a tank top shirt, and yoga pants. "We got here really early this morning."

"Well, I'm Arabella Tyler. Nice to meet you." She said, sticking her hand out.

"I'm Alex Summers." He looked at her outstretched hand and ignored it. "So are we supposed to walk around in our pajamas or..?" He said it in a snarky voice that Arabella was very used to. When she worked in the diner, she was always getting yelled at by men who had that tone of voice.

Arabella withdrew her hand and the smile disappeared from her face. "No, I was just heading over to my friends room to borrow some clothes." She coldly said.

"Okay then. Bye." He walked down the hallway towards the common room. As soon as he turned the corner Arabella rushed over to Ravens room and knocked on the door. When Raven didn't answer, she knocked louder.

Finally Raven answered, looking tired and disheveled. The blonde mutant was still in her pajamas, her hair sticking out all over the place. "Wha-" was all she got out before Arabella pushed her way into the girls room.

"The last mutant is here." Arabella informed her.

"Oh yeah?" Raven yawned. "Who is it?"

"He's a-"

"He?" Raven questioned, sitting down on the bed. "Is he cute?"

"I don't know! All I know is that he's a jerk!" Arabella frustratedly said. "And what does it matter if he is? I thought you were interested in Hank."

"So what if I am, so what if I'm not?" Raven nonchalantly said. "Besides, Hank too blind to even notice me." Arabella had to agree with that. She had seen Raven all but kiss the guy, but he never even noticed her flirtation.

"Anyways," Arabella began pacing the room and using her hands to explain. "I was on my way here, when I ran into this guy. He's blonde, and tall, and muscular, but none of that matters because he's the biggest jerk! He's just like the guys back at the diner!"

"So what'd he do?" Raven said as she picked up a brush and ran it through her hair.

"So I go outside, heading over here, when I run into him. I try to be polite, I introduce myself, I try to shake his hand, and he totally blows me off. He ignores my hand, he insults me, and then acts like nothing's wrong. What a jerk." Arabella plopped down on the bed next to Raven.

"Well I hate to break it to you Ara, but guys are jerks." Raven said as she stood up from the bed and walked over to the wardrobe.

"Ara?" Arabella questioned.

"Yeah, short for Arabella."

–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

A little girl with brown hair, about 6 years old, was sitting down on the plush chair. She was looking down at a coloring book, trying to think of something to color.

"Ara sweetie." A soft voice cooed. "Come here Darling." The voice broke the little girls concentration as she looked up from her book.

"Coming Aunt Jill!" The child clambered off of the chair and ran to her Aunt. "Is Daddy here?"

"Yes Ara. He's in with your Mother." The woman kneeled down, looking at the girl, wishing there was some way that this would be easy for her to say.

"Can I see Mommy yet?" The small girl asked. Her soft brown eyes were staring into the woman's blue ones.

"In a moment Darling." The woman looked away, tears brimming in her eyes. "Ara sweetie, do you know what this place is?"

"Yes Aunt Jill. It's a hospital."

"Do you know why we have hospitals." The woman's voice cracked.

"So we can take care of sick people." The girl cocked her head. "Why are you asking me this Aunt Jill?"

"Because," a tear fell down the woman's face. "Your mother, got hurt today." More tears began streaming down her face. "Someone crashed into her car."

"Is Mommy okay?" The little girl asked.

"No sweetie." The woman choked out. "She's not."

"What's going to happen to her?" The child said in an innocent voice.

"She's, she's-" The woman could no longer continue. She pressed her hand to her mouth and began sobbing uncontrollably. The little girl stood in front of her, not understanding what was going on.

"Aunt Jill?" The little girl questioned. "Aunt Jill what's the matter?" The woman was crying to hard to answer. A man walked up behind the woman and places a hand on her shoulder.

"Jill." He said softly. "Jill come on. Your scaring the poor child." The girl tilted her head back to look at the familiar man.

"Uncle Albert? When can I see Mommy?" The man looked into the little girls eyes.

"You can come now Ara." The man placed his arm around the crying woman and he held the little girls hand as they walked into a room filled with beeping monitors, IV bags, and crying people.

The people stood around a bed. Occupying the bed was a woman. She had brown hair, the same color as the little girls. She had stitches across her arms and cuts and scrapes all throughout her body. Beside her, knelt a man. The man had sandy blonde hair and brown eyes, the exact shade of the little girls.

When the little girl was led into the room, most people left, wanting to give the family space. The few who remained was the crying woman, the man who led the little girl to the room, and the man kneeling beside the bed.

"Daddy!" Squealed the little girl. She ran to him, but he didn't even glance at her. His eyes stayed fixed on the woman lying on the bed. "Daddy? What's wrong?" He didn't answer.

"Tom." The other man cleared his throat. "Tom!" He said a bit louder. He walked over and placed his hands on the kneeling mans shoulders. He stood him up and led him over to a couple of chairs in the room.

"Here sweetie." The crying woman compose herself and walked over to the bedside, next to the little girl. She lifted her up so she could see the woman lying on the bed. When the girl saw her face, her eyes widened.

"Mommy?" She whispered. At the sound of the child's voice, the woman opened her eyes.

"Arabella." The woman breathed. "Oh my sweet, darling Arabella."

"Mommy, are you going to be okay?" The little girl asked.

"No sweetheart. I'm not." When the child heard this, a tear fell down her cheek. "But don't be sad Ara. You'll have your Daddy to take car of you, and you'll have Aunt Jill and Uncle Albert."

"But I want you." At the sound of the child's pitiful voice, the woman on the bed smiled weakly.

"I'm so sorry I'm leaving you sweetie. But I'll see you again. Don't you worry." The woman bravely said. "I promise." After those two last words were spoken, the woman stopped breathing. She just stared off into the distance. The woman holding the child up began to cry louder. As did the two men sitting in the chairs. But the little girl didn't understand.

"Mommy?" She asked. "Mommy? Mommy!" She seemed to begin to understand what happened and began to cry. The woman holding her hugged her.

"It's okay Arabella. It's okay."

After that day, nobody called her Ara again. Not even her Aunt. People felt as if the name Ara, had died with her mother. When she was addressed, she was addressed as Bella, or Arabella. Usually the latter.

No one called her Ara anymore. Until now.

"It's alright if I call you that, right?" Raven asked.

"Yeah, of course." Arabella quickly said. "I just haven't been called that since I was little."

"Ok then." Raven said, looking in the vanity. She suddenly turned around. "Let's get dressed and go meet this incredibly rude boy that you won't shut up about." She said with a smile.

"Okay." Arabella laughed. "But I'm sure you will find him as rude and obnoxious as I do."

"Ara, you've only just met him." Raven chuckled. "For heavens sake you had a 45 second conversation with him in the hallways. I'm sure he's not that bad."

"Oh believe me Raven. I know bad when I see it.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Hi guys, so here's chapter four. I hope you guys like it! As always, please, please, please review. Constructive criticism is welcomed but please no flames.

Disclaimer: I only own Arabella and my ideas.

After the two girls got dressed, they headed down to hallway to the common room. When they walked in, Arabella saw Alex and Sean getting acquainted. As Raven walked off to flirt with Hank, Arabella walked over to grab some cereal, which happened to be right next to Sean and Alex.

"Ah, Arabella." Sean greeted her. "You hair looks absolutely stunning as always." He referred to her hair which was in a side braid thanks to Raven.

"Oh shut up Sean." Arabella smiled, grabbing the cereal. "You know, maybe if you didn't hit on every girl on this base, I would accept your compliments." She teased.

"I don't hit on every girl!" He protested.

"And I'm the Queen of England!" Arabella laughed. She laughed even harder when a look of confusion overcame his face. "I'm sorry, I thought we were pointing out things that aren't true."

"Haha, very funny Arabella." Sean scowled. "Have you met Alex yet?" The ginger haired mutant asked. Arabella didn't look up from her bowl of cereal as she answered.

"Yeah, I met him this morning." She replied, in between chews. When she looked up, she saw Alex studying her. He immediately looked away when he caught her looking.

"Well you know," Sean started. "Now that we're all here, we can finally show other our mutations. I'm very curious as to what yours is. Could it be-"

"Oh shut up Sean!" Arabella grabbed her bowl of cereal and walked away from the counter, laughing. She headed over to Angel who was sitting on the couch, doing her hair. "Hey Angel." Arabella plopped down besides her.

"Hey Ara." Angel said. "What's up?"

"Nothing." Arabella replied. She looked up from her bowl of cereal to see Raven flirting with Hank. But poor Hank looked a little frightened. Angel looked up and followed Arabella's gaze.

"It's actually a bit sad, isn't it?" Angel chuckled. "Raven flirting with Hank. I mean, the poor boy probably doesn't even know what flirting is." Arabella started laughing along with Angel.

"Oh don't say that!" Arabella choked out.

For the rest of the day, the mutants didn't really do anything except lounge around the common room and play stupid games. The only really important thing that happened was each mutant telling the rest what they used to do. Arabella told everyone that she used to be a waitress at a crappy diner, Angel confessed that she was a stripper (something that Sean had smiled at), Alex told the group that he had been in military custody by his own decision, Darwin had been a taxi driver, Sean had been a regular guy, and Raven told them she lived with Charles. Soon enough, it was nearing nightfall, and all of the mutants had gathered around the coffee table.

"We should have code names!" Raven suddenly blurted out. "We're government agents now, we should have code names! I want to be called Mystique."

"Damn! I wanted to be called Mystique." Sean joked.

"Well tough, I called it." Blue scales suddenly rippled down her body until she looked exactly like Sean "Besides, I'm way more mysterious than you." Raven said in Sean's voice. She morphed back into her self and than turned to Darwin. "Darwin, what about you?"

"Well Darwin's already a nickname," He said, standing up from the couch. "And it kinda fits. Adapt for survival and all." He than plunged his head into the fish bowl. Almost immediately, gills sprouted on the side of his face. Everyone started laughing and clapping. "What about you?" Darwin looked at Sean.

"I'm going to be..." Sean paused. "Banshee." A grin broke out onto his face.

"Why would you want to be named after a wailing spirit?" Hank leaned forward.

"You might wanna cover your ears." Sean grinned as he stood up and crouched in front of a few glasses. Everyone had their hands over their ears as Sean let out a piercing screech. But instead of the glasses breaking, the giant window behind the mutants shattered. Everyone clapped for him as Angel stood up.

"Well, my stage name is Angel," she started, removing her leather jacket. "And it kinda fits." Sean wolf whistled as her jacket fell off of her shoulders showing black lines all over her arms. Suddenly, the black markings peeled off to reveal wings.

"You can fly?" Raven asked, in awe.

"That's not all," Angel smiled. To demonstrate, she spit a ball of acid onto the bronze statue in the courtyard. Everyone cheered as Angel sat back onto the couch, looking at Arabella. "What about you Ara?"

"I think I'll be 'Illusion.'" Arabella grinned.

"Why 'Illusion'?" Raven cocked her head.

"Well you guys know those magicians at the circus who are called 'Great Illusionists' for like, levitating people?" They all nodded in response to Arabella's question. "Well..." Suddenly, the drinks that Sean and Alex were holding, levitated out of their hands and lifted few feet in the air. "I'm kind of a more skilled Illusionist." Arabella coyly smiled. Everyone gasped and clapped while Sean and Alex reclaimed their floating drinks.

Of course, this was not the only reason that Arabella chose this certain name. No, there was a much darker, sadder reason that she had chosen this name, but no one besides her needed to know the reason.

Arabella didn't notice the slight smile that Alex gave her when he reclaimed his drink. "Hank, what about you?" She smiled.

Hank started blushing furiously and looked to the ground.

"How about big-foot?" Alex sneered. Arabella shot him a glare, as did Raven, but he unfortunately did not see it. You know, for a while, Arabella was starting think he was okay, but now she had the exact same opinion she had of him that morning. But before she could say anything, Raven beat her to it.

"Well you know what they say about big feet," she than looked down at Alex's feet. "And yours are kind of small." The whole room hurst into laughter as Alex glared at Raven. Okay, maybe Arabella felt a little bit sorry for him, but he had it coming.

"What about you Alex? What's your mutation?" Angel asked as the laugher died down.

"I, uh, I can't do it." Alex muttered. Now Arabella did fell sorry for him. She knew what it was like to be scared of your mutation. God knows how many people she's nearly hurt with hers. "I can't do it in here." Alex finally said.

"Can you do it out there?" Arabella asked, pointing to the courtyard. Alex sighed and stood up. The rest the mutants followed him to the courtyard and waited in the room on his instruction. He stepped over where the window once was and made his way in front of the statue.

"Stand back!" Alex shouted to the rest of the teenagers. They had all stuck their heads out the window, trying to see him. When they heard his shout, they all ducked back inside. But not five seconds later, they all stuck their heads out again. "Stand back!" Alex shouted again, a bit more forcefully. When the teenagers didn't even bother retreating his time he just shook his head and muttered, "Whatever."

Suddenly, he began to swing his hips in a spiral motion that reminded Arabella of someone hula hooping. As he did this, three rings began to form around his body. They suddenly flew off of his body. Two of the three rings veered off course, but one hit the statue, slicing it in half.

Everyone gasped in surprise and started cheering as Raven said, "I think you should be called Havok!"

Once Alex got back inside, the party really started. The teenagers went crazy with Hank swinging on the chandelier by his feet, Angel was flying around everywhere, Alex and Sean were trying to see how durable Darwin was by taking chairs and smashing him with them. Arabella and Raven were standing on the couch, dancing wildly to the loud music. The mutants were having the time of their lives. Until Charles, Erik, and a CIA agent came.

"What is going on here?!" The female CIA agent yelled at the teenagers. Arabella quickly hopped off the couch as did Raven. "Who destroyed the statue?!" The agent angrily yelled.

"It was Alex." Hank quickly said as Alex threw him a glare.

"No," Raven smiled widely. "We have to call him Havok. That's his name now." The blonde haired mutant than walked in front of the rest of them. "And we were thinking, you should be Magneto, and you can be Professor X." She pointed to Erik and then Charles.

"Outstanding." Erik dryly said as he turned and walked away.

Ravens smile fell from her face as Charles reprimanded her. "I expect more from you." He coldly said. As soon as he walked away, Raven turned back to the group, her face ashamed.

"Come one guys." She softly said. "We should clean this up." The seven mutants spent half an hour picking up bottles, cleaning up spills, and sweeping up glass. They all felt ashamed, but none more than Raven.

Arabella was sweeping up glass where the window was broken. Nobody was really talking. Just cleaning. She had just about finished sweeping when she tripped and cut her hand on a sharp piece of glass.

"Damn it!" She cursed. Almost immediately, blood starting pulsing from the cut. Not a lot of blood but enough to make Arabella groan inwardly. She stood up and said somewhat loudly, "Do we have bandages anywhere?"

"Why?" Angel asked.

"I cut myself on a stupid piece of glass." Arabella grumbled, walking over to the counter to get some paper towels.

"Are you sure it's the glass that's stupid?" Alex chuckled.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Arabella accusingly looked at Alex.

"Nothing. Just a joke." He smiled. Arabella shook her head and pressed paper towels to the cut. She looked around to see that the common room was clean for the most part, except for the broken window, but they could deal with that in the morning.

"Hey guys, let's call it a night." Arabella suggested.

"I agree!" Sean called.

"Me too." Darwin nodded his head.

"Same." Angel threw away the rest of the trash she was holding. Once all mutants were in agreement about going to bed, they all headed to their respective rooms.

By the time Arabella had put on her pajamas and was climbing into bed, she heard a knock on the door. She pulled herself out of bed and cracked open the door, to find Angel. She was in her nightclothes as well. "Is something wrong?" Arabella asked.

"Come on Ara," Angel grinned. "We're having a sleepover in Ravens room."

"Did Raven send you over?" Arabella opened the door fully.

"No," Angel grinned even wider. "She doesn't know about it."

"Well than how do yo-" Arabella started.

"Oh just come on!" Angel grabbed Arabella by the wrist and yanked her into the hallway, shutting the door behind her. "Besides, she's been down since Charles spoke to her." Apparently Charles had never criticized Raven like that before.

Once they got there, Angel knocked three times on the door. "Raven!" She yelled. "It's me and Ara!" A moment later the door opened to reveal a tired looking Raven. Before she had a chance to talk, Angel barged in the room. "We're having a sleepover Raven. No buts."

"Okay then." The blonde haired teenager laughed. Arabella walked into the room and laid down on the bed. "What do you guys want to do?" The three teenagers spent the rest of the night painting nails, playing with each others hair, and reading magazines. Something that normal teenagers would do.

Sometime during the night, all three girls fell asleep. Arabella was the first to wake up the next morning. The chestnut haired mutant didn't feel like waking the other two girls up so she borrowed a shirt and shorts from Raven, ran a brush through her long hair, and walked out the door. When she walked past the common room, she saw that she was the only mutant awake and the glass window had already been replaced. How the CIA did that so quickly is a mystery.

Arabella walked over to the fridge to see it stocked with new food. She noticed a carton of eggs and gasped in delight. Her eyes flickered to the stove next to the fridge and she got an idea. She removed the egg carton from the fridge and found a frying pan. She heated up the stove and found a bowl to mix the eggs in. She decided to try and use her power to levitate the eggs to her.

She did this successfully with the first two eggs. She began to whisk them as she levitated the third one to her. She would have been successful if someone hadn't had startled her.

"Someone got up early." A voice from behind said. Arabella gasped, turning away from the stove. The egg that had been floating was now on the ground due to lack of concentration. When Arabella saw who the voice belonged to, she let out a sigh of relief.

"Jesus Christ Alex." She breathed. "You scared me."

He smirked his signature smirk and replied, "I can see that. So what are you doing this early?"

"A simple 'Sorry' would suffice." Arabella grumbled, grabbing a towel and wiping up the cracked egg from the floor. "I usually got up this early back at home." She answered his question. "I guess I've gotten used to it."

"Now why would you get up this early everyday?" Alex asked, sitting down at the counter.

"At the diner I worked," she started. She was now back to whisking eggs again as the stove started to heat up. "I worked double shifts to cover the rent and bills at my old apartment."

"Wow." Was his reply.

"What?" She started to pour the whisked egg into the pan. The egg sizzled as it hit the pan.

"Nothing. It's just, you had to work so hard." He said. Arabella thought she saw something in his eyes. A glimmer of respect perhaps? "Didn't your parents help out?"

_"Get out you monster!" The man shouted. "Get out of my home!" He opened the door and shoved the brunette onto the sidewalk. Tears were streaming down her face._

_"But Dad!" She cried. "I'm your daughter!" _

_"No, your a monster!" Was his cold reply. He started walking back inside as the brown haired girl cried._

_"Sixteen years Dad! Sixteen!" She yelled. "Does that mean nothing to you! What about Mom?! She wouldn't do this!" The girl knew she struck a nerve when he stopped dead in his tracks. The man whirled around and walked toward the girl, stopping in front of her._

_"Your Mother, is not here." He growled, face to face with her. "I can't even believe she could give birth to a demon like you. If your mother was here, she would agree with me. Your a freak Arabella! And nothing will ever change that!" The man then turned and stormed back inside the house, leaving the brown haired girl sitting on the sidewalk, sobbing._

Arabella was pulled back into reality to find Alex staring at her. He had asked a question hadn't he?

"My mom died when I was young, and my father kicked my out onto the streets when I was sixteen, after he discovered my mutation. So I moved to the city and found a cheap apartment and lived there for two years, until Charles and Erik found me." She gave him the quick summary of her life as she cooked the eggs.

When she looked up, she saw him looking at her with pity. "Don't be sorry." She quickly said. "He was a crappy dad anyways." She attempted to smile. Luckily, Alex smiled back.

"So you were what? A waitress for two years?" Alex questioned.

"Yeah basically." Arabella nodded. "Do you want any eggs?" She offered. Alex nodded and she got along to cracking two more eggs.

"Did you enjoy it?" Alex questioned.

"Not in the slightest!" Arabella laughed. "I mean, there were the good days when there would be a barely any customers and I got to go home early., but most days I was up at dawn and leaving work at Midnight."

"Your lucky you weren't kidnapped or anything, walking around the city at Midnight." Alex chuckled.

"Oh believe me, there were quite a few times some man would pull me aside." She laughed at the look of horror on his face. "But you see Alex, none of those men were genetically enhanced and had powers that could be used to defend them." Alex chuckled as Arabella laughed. "Actually, the attacks that I have caused have made the papers quite a few times. Did you hear about the attack about a week ago that happened to that middle aged man who said he was attacked by a woman?" Arabella questioned.

"Wait, that was you?" Alex smiled as Arabella nodded her head in confirmation. "Wow. I just can't imagine you doing that."

"So I've given you the summary of my life, now it's your turn." Arabella stated as she put the eggs she'd finished on a plate and she started whisking up the second batch.

Alex's smile faded a bit as she said this. "Well, you know I was in military confinement on my own terms." He started. "It was actually because of my mutation." Arabella finished with the eggs and placed them in front of him. He nodded in thanks as he continued on with his story. "I didn't feel safe around people, I felt like I was going to hurt them, so what better place to be then there."

Arabella knew there was a certain, specific reason he was in confinement. But if he wasn't ready to tell her yet, that was okay. He'd tell her when he was ready.

"You know Alex," Arabella started, chewing on the eggs. "Your not as bad as I thought you were."

He smiled and said, "Thanks Ara, your not so bad yourself."


End file.
